


It's Not Home Yet (But I'm Getting There)

by orphan_account



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Major spoilers for IM3, Slash?, Spoilers for Iron Man 3, seriously if you haven't watched the movie don't read this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-02
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-10 04:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> <br/><b>MAJOR SPOILERS FOR IRON MAN 3.  I SWEAR IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE MOVIE, DO NOT READ THIS.</b></p><p> </p><p>Takes place right after Iron Man 3.</p><p>Screw the summary.  I don't even know how I'll summarize this without spoiling anything and some people have already cursed me for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Not Home Yet (But I'm Getting There)

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read the summary or the tags, this contains major IM3 spoilers so don't read if you haven't watched the movie less you curse me for spoiling it.
> 
> It's pre-slash? Tony and Pepper are still together in this story so it's probably just friendship. Although, you can see it as slash if you want to.
> 
> And yes, I think Tony would move back to New York. It seems only logical for him to do so and despite his anxiety issues, he could probably work through them with the help of the others. 
> 
>  
> 
> Well, enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **EDIT: A reader whom I shall not name for privacy purposes pointed out a few details that needed some straightening out and I've added a few more lines of dialogue and changed things around a bit so that the story would flow better. The plot's still the same. I'd like to thank him/her for bringing it to my attention in a nice way. I do hope it's much better and more believable now. :)**

After the whole fiasco with A.I.M. and the Mandarin who was actually a poor British actor that had absolutely no clue who or what he was working for, Tony Stark decided he needed a break.

His Malibu Mansion was nothing but a bunch of rubble by now – a monument to what he lost during the battle – and it only served to remind him of what he could’ve avoided if he just agreed to meet Aldrich Killian that night in Switzerland. 

_“Well, that’s in the past.”_ He thought to himself. _“Can’t undo it even if I wanted to.”_

He absentmindedly rubbed his fingers on his chest, the absence of the arc reactor a foreign feeling to him. He’s had that thing for years now and he’s gotten used to it shoved in his chest, almost as if it were a part of him. He spent his dying months trying to find a suitable replacement to the Palladium that was poisoning his bloodstream and it seemed like all those months were in vain if he was just going to have the damned thing removed. 

He doesn’t regret it for one bit.

Anyways, with the Malibu mansion gone, Tony had no idea where else to go but back to New York.

Jesus, even the thought of it brings back harsh memories.

But, there was naught he could do. Stark Tower was working fine without him but he missed his baby and he often wondered what have become of the people he called his teammates once upon a blue moon.

He made a brief pit stop at Tennessee before going all the way to New York. Memories flashed back as he remembered his near sacrifice to save the world from an insane Norse god who had an army of aliens at his beck and call. Tony tried his best to quell the anxiety creeping up from within him and tried to keep himself occupied so as not to have another anxiety attack. The first ones were bad enough and he really didn't want to admit that he had PTSD.

Bruce was there when he came back to the tower and greeted him like an old friend before smacking him in the back of the head for making them think he was dead. Tony’s brows furrowed in confusion before he remembered that yes, he was assumed dead because of the attack on his mansion. He should hold a press conference soon to tell everyone he not only survived but lived to tell the tale. Tony realized he must’ve been gone for longer than he thought because Bruce now had a beard and more white hairs than he could count. 

He narrated everything to Bruce who promptly fell asleep just as he was telling him about the part in the elevator in Switzerland. 

Tony didn't mind though. It was nice to have a familiar face with him. 

Still, there were nights when Tony would wake up, gasping from a nightmare. He would clutch at his chest and panic for a moment when he realized the reactor wasn’t there before remembering that he had it taken out and tried to calm himself down. Pepper would usually help him through his anxiety attacks, and really, how was Pepper so perfect? He didn’t deserve her, yet she still wanted to stay with him. She would gently wake him up and hold him close until he was able to fall asleep again. If that didn’t work, she let him go down to the workshop to tinker around a bit seeing as keeping his mind occupied was one of the better things to do when he was having an attack. 

Tonight, he didn’t even step one foot into the workshop. After a particularly horrible nightmare, Tony found himself in the kitchen, absentmindedly making hot chocolate for himself, just like Jarvis, his old butler used to make for him when he was a child. Pepper was in Japan for the week to talk with possible investors so Tony would have to sit through this attack on his own.

"Sir, there's someone at the door. Should I send him up?"

Tony turned an irate eye at the ceiling. "Who is exactly is _him?_ "

"Captain Rogers, sir."

Tony's eyes widened. "Captain America?!"

"I believe so, sir. Should I send him up?"

"What is he doing here at..." Tony glanced at his watch. "Three in the morning?!"

JARVIS was silent for a moment before, "He's says it's urgent, sir." 

Tony rolled his eyes. "Fine, bring him up."

The only tell-tale sign that there was someone entering was the sound of the elevator ding as it promptly stopped at his floor. Tony ignored it and proceeded to nurse his hot chocolate.

“Stark?”

Tony turned around and took in the sight of Captain America. He was wearing a tight fitting shirt and track pants, eyes wide as if in disbelief.

He lifted his mug towards Rogers. “Captain. Always a pleasure to see you again.”

“We thought you were dead.” Rogers said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "B-but then Bruce told me you were back and I couldn't believe it and I had to see it for myself."

“At three in the morning?” Tony asked incredulously. “You couldn't wait until a more respectable hour?”

Rogers shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

Tony scoffed. "Right."

Tony suddenly found himself being engulfed in a hug courtesy of the Star Spangled Man himself. He tensed up for a moment, not used to such displays of affection if they weren’t from Pepper but relaxed a few moments later when his body realized that it was not under attack. 

Rogers pulled away and his eyes traveled down to his chest. “Where’s your light-thingy in here?”

Tony huffed indignantly. “For your information, it was called an Arc Reactor and I had it removed along with the various pieces of shrapnel I kept in my chest for years.” 

Rogers pulled up a chair and sat down in front of him. “What happened?”

Tony briefly wondered if he should tell Rogers. After all, the man could be working for S.H.I.E.L.D and wouldn’t Fury just be beside himself with glee if he managed to get his hands on this information. Still, Rogers was looking at him with earnest eyes and Tony sighed.

“This stays between us, okay?” Tony told him. “That means you can’t tell anyone else without my express permission.”

Rogers shook his head. “I won’t. I promise.”

Tony started by telling him what happened back in 1999 in Bern, Switzerland. He told him about the Mark 42, the attacks, Happy, the Mandarin who wasn’t, the attack on his mansion which led to almost everyone assuming he was dead, Tennessee, his anxiety attacks, A.I.M, the time he nearly lost Pepper, his suits exploding in a fireworks display and ultimately, his removal of the arc reactor. Rogers was proving to be a more respectful audience than Bruce was, interjecting into the story at appropriate moments but listening to him all throughout with attentiveness. At the end of the story, Rogers looked at him with wide eyes, amazement written on every feature of his face.

“That’s...wow.” He finished lamely.

Tony just took a sip from his hot chocolate. 

“But you’re okay now, right?” Rogers asked. 

Tony wanted to tell him to fuck off, but Rogers probably didn’t mean any malice in the question. He was just curious.

“Still get attacks from time to time. It’s why I’m up, actually.” Tony replied. “Why are you here?”

“Bruce told me you were back and...I wanted to see you.” Rogers said. 

“Well, as always it's a pleasure to be in your presence.” Tony deadpanned but there was a hint of a smirk on his face.

Rogers’ lips quirked up in a smile. “Actually, we're all excited to see you. Clint and Natasha are on a mission right now but they’ll be surprised when they come back and find you here. Thor is still...wherever the hell he went but he'll be excited to see you as well. We've missed you."

"Well, glad to know I was missed." Tony replied with a grin.

Rogers smiled and ducked his head in a bashful manner and Tony realizes the last time he saw that smile was when he woke up from throwing the nuke at the Chitauri spaceship. 

“Well, it was nice to see you again, Tony.” Rogers said with a smile, pushing back his chair and standing up.

“It was nice to see you again, Rogers.” Tony replied. "Why don't you stay here for the night? There's a guest bedroom down the hall and maybe you shouldn't walk back to your apartment.

"Thanks." Rogers smiled and they shook hands. “And, please call me Steve.” 

Tony frowned for a moment before he smiled a bit. “Alright...Steve.”

“Well, goodnight Tony.” 

“Night.”

Steve went to the guest bedroom Tony pointed out and Tony finished his hot chocolate that’s gotten cold during the course of the evening. He turned off the lights and went back to the bedroom.

He didn’t dream that night.

It was probably the most peacefully he’s ever slept in months.

He smiled to himself. Maybe...

...Maybe New York wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
